Automatic gaging apparatus of modular construction and method of manufacture

ABSTRACT

A rotary transfer type of automatic gaging system is disclosed which allows the use of standarized modular components in fabricating gaging systems for a variety of applications requiring a variety of gaging and/or other motions in varying numbers and at varying numbers of work stations. The system includes an endless chain or belt drive extending about the rotary index table and engaging a series of standard cam modules located at each work station, rotatable about axes parallel to the table axis so that their number may be varied according to design requirements. Each of the cam modules are capable of driving one, two, or three motion modules, providing an output motion in the vertical direction from below, or vertically from above the table, or in the horizontal direction, respectively. These motion modules are adapted to nest together at each cam module to allow use of one, two, or three distinct motions at each station.

Unite States Patent Jacques Aug. 28, 1973 [76] Inventor: Roy Jerome Jacques, 303 Porter Dr.,

Englewood, Ohio 45322 {22] Filed: June 22, 1972 [21] App]. No.: 265,407

Primary ExaminerThomas H. Eager Attorney-John R. Benefiel et a1.

[ 5 7 ABSTRACT A rotary transfer type of automatic gaging system is disclosed which allows the use of standarized modular components in fabricating gaging systems for a variety of applications requiring a variety of gaging and/or other motions in varying numbers and at varying numbers of work stations. The system includes an endless chain or belt drive extending about the rotary index table and engaging a series of standard cam modules located at each work station, rotatable about axes parallel to the table axis so that their number may be varled according to design requirements. Each of the cam modules are capable of driving one, two, or three mo tion modules, providing an output motion in the vertical direction from below, or vertically from above the table, or in the horizontal direction, respectively. These motion modules are adapted to nest together at each cam module to allow use of one, two, or three distinct motions at each station.

4 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures Patented Aug. 28, 1973 4 Sheets-Sheet l Patehted Aug. 28, 1973 4 SheetsSheet 2 Patented Aug. 28, 1973 4 Sheets-Shoot 3 Patented Aug. 28,.1973

4 Sheets-Sheet 4 AUTOMATIC GAGING APPARATUS OF MODULAR CONSTRUCTION AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION l. Field of the Invention This invention concerns gaging systems and more particularly gaging systems involving workpiece transfer by a rotary index table and locating and orienting and gaging operations by a drive mechanism driving a plurality of motion mechanisms having tooling associated therewith, as well as a method of manufacture thereof.

2. Description of the Prior Art Automatic gaging systems have traditionally been designed and built for the most part on a custom basis for each installation, since the differing installations required a great variation in the number of work stations and total gaging operations and in the number and type of gaging, locating and/or orienting motions at each station.

This situation existed primarily because the particular drives usually employed as well as the mechanism providing the motions themselves tended to preclude standardized versions or modules, and also tended to be very complex and to limit the number of motions at any given station.

For these reasons the cost of such installations has been very high, and has tended to limit more widespread use of such systems.

Therefore, it is an object of the presnet invention to provide a drive system and motion mechanisms which allow for modular drive and motion mechanisms to be used in a great variety of installations which are simplified over prior art devices, and which allow the use of the maximum number of motions at each station.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacture of such systems by incorporation of modular components.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION below, vertical motion from above, and horizontal motion respectively, and which mechanisms are adapted to nest together to provide all of these motions at a given station without excessively complex linkages.

The method of manufacture involves the selection of the necessary modular components from these elements to provide a complete system having the required number of stations and motions without the necessity for extensive engineering efi'ort.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plane view of a rotary transfer automatic gaging system constructed according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial elevational view of the system shown in FIG. 1 in the direction 2-2 indicated in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged elevational view of an individual work station shown in FIG. 2, with a motion mechanism added.

FIG. 4 is a view of the work station shown in FIG. 3 with a second additional motion mechanism installed.

FIG. 5 is an elevational view of the cam module according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the vertical motion from the above module.

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of a horizontal motion module.

FIG. 8 is a plane view of the horizontal slide module shown in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is an elevational view of the vertical motion from below the module.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION In the following detailed description certain specific terminology will be utilized for the sake of clarity and a specific embodiment will be described in order to provide a complete understanding of the invention, but it is to be understood that the invention is not so limited and may be practiced in a variety of forms and embodiments.

Referring to the drawings and particularly FIGS. I and 2, a rotary transfer automatic gaging system I0 is shown (omitting certain details such as tooling, etc., for the purposes of clarity). This system includes a workpiece feeder 12 adapted to feed workpieces (not shown) onto a rotary index table 14 rotatably supported on a housing 16 and adapted to be rotated by a drive mechanism 18 of conventional design such as an electric motor-speed reducer combination which drives a right angle indexing drive 20 drivingly connected to the rotary index table 14.

workpieces are carried through a series of work stations disposed about the axis of the rotary index table by indexing rotation thereof (controlled by control circuitry not shown), at which various locating and/or orienting, and gaging operations are carried out by a series of motion modules to be described in detail herein in combination with fixturing and tooling (not shown).

The information generated by the gaging operations is displayed by means of instrumentation contained in console 22.

After a given workpiece is carried through all of the work stations, it is removed from the rotary index table via exit chute 24.

Inasmuch as this broad organization is well known in the art as well as these various components with the exception of the particular motion modules and the drive system therefor, it is not felt necessary to describe the same in any detail.

The particular system 10 shown is capable of providing up to twelve work stations including feeding and discharging stations depending on the particular design needs of a given installation. In the representative system I0 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, four operational work stations are utilized, with a particular motion module located at each of these work stations, a horizontal motion module 26 at the first station, a vertical motion from below the table module 28 at the second station, a second horizontal motion module 26 at the third station, and a vertical motion from above the table module 30 at the fourth station.

Located at each of the stations is a cam module 32 secured to the underside of the system base top 33 adapted to drive each motion module, and which in turn are driven by a continuous flexible drive element, shown as a double link chain 34, engaging a double sprocket drive 36 at each cam module 32, which includes a main double sprocket 38 and an idler double sprocket 40 included to insure engagement of the double chain 34 with a sufficient number of teeth on the main double sprocket 38 to carry the load.

The double chain 34 is circulated by a modular right angle drive unit 42 in turn powered from the indexing table drive unit 20.

According to the present invention, each station may include any one of the motion modules, any combination of two types, or all three of the motion module types.

This is illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, which depicts the station shown in FIG. 2 with a horizontal module 26, in FIG. 3 with a vertical motion from below module 28 added, and in FIG. 4 with a vertical motion from above module 30 added to the two-module installation of FIG. 3.

Each motion module nests within each other to accommodate all three at a single station, and are all driven from the same cam module 32 by means of a series of cam plates 44, 46, and 48 which are included for each of the respective motion modules 26, 28, and 30 as required, which are engaged with a respective cam follower 50, 52, and 54 associated with each of the motion modules.

Referring to FIG. 5, each cam module (shown opposite to that shown in FIG. 2) includes the standard double sprocket 38 section drivingly connected to a cam section 56 by means of an internally splined collar 58 cooperating with externally splined sections 60 and 62 formed on end portions of the sprocket and cam unit respectively which allows ready adjustment of the angular relationship therebetween while ensuring a positive connection. The cam section 56 includes a drive axle 64 and mounting flange 64 integral therewith to which can be mounted the cam plate 48 described above. The cam plates 44 and 46 are drivingly connected to the drive axle 54 by means of a square drive section 66 cooperating with complementary openings the respective cam plates 44 and 46. In the event only cam plate 44 is required, a suitable spacer plate (not shown) is utilized.

Thus, it can be appreciated that all of these components of the cam module 36 with the exception of the cam plates may be standardized for a great variety of applications.

The horizontal motion module 26 is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 and includes a main frame 66 flanged to be bolted to the housing surface 16 and also including a tooling mounting block 68 slidably mounted on four guide rods 70, 71, 72, and 73 secured to the frame 66. The cam follower 50 is mounted on a drive arm 74 integral with the block 68 and extending through an opening 76 in the main frame 66. A pair of compression springs 78 and 80 fitted over rods 70, 72 respectively and engaging the block 68 and main frame 66, serve to bias the block 68 to the forward position against the camming action which is used to force the block 68 to the retracted position shown.

A semi-circular cutout 82 is formed in the main frame to provide clearance for the motion module 28 when nesting is required by the particular application.

An adjustable travel stop is included at 84 to provide position and accurate travel limits.

FIG. 9 shows the vertical motion from below module 28 which also includes a frame member 86 flanged for bolting to the underside of housing surface 16, a block 88 slidably mounted on a rod 90 fixed to the frame member 86, and a tooling mounting shaft 92 fixed to the block 88. Shaft 92 is slidably mounted in bearings 91 and 93 protected by wiper seals 94, 96, 98, and to allow reciprocation thereof with sliding movement of block 88.

Cam follower 52 is mounted on block 88 to dirve the same, while a bias tension spring 102 is attached to the frame member 86 and to an extension bar 104 connected to block to provide an up bias to the position shown.

The vertical motion from above module 30 is depiected in FIG. 9 (shown in a reverse position from that in FIG. 4) and includes a vertical support frame 106 which includes a pair of flanged support webs 108 and 1 10 (FIG. 2) adapted to be bolted to the surface 16 and being spaced appropriately to straddle the horizontal module 26 when used at the same station as shown in FIG. 4. An upper mounting portion 112 integral therewith is formed with a mounting surface 114 to which is mounted a horizontal motion module 26 in a vertical position. A pivoted link 116 mounts the cam follower 54, and a connecting link 118 is thereby adapted to reciprocally drive a sprocket wheel 120 rotatably supported in a fork 122 adjustably connected to the connecting link 118.

A chain 124 is fixed to the frame at one end, meshes with the sprocket wheel 120 and is fixed at the other end to the arm 74 of horizontal motion module 26.

V This arrangement provides a simple motion amplification as the slide of module 26 is thereby reciprocated at a much more rapid rate than connecting link 118.

Accordingly, in manufacturing a specific gaging system by the method of the present invention, the number of stations required is established by conventional design practice and a standard cam module is located at such number of stations about a standard rotary index table, which includes its rotary indexing drive. The required number and type of motions at each station are determined, and the necessary type and number of standard motion mechanisms are then selected and located at each station together with the necessary cam plates. Finally, the double chain drive is installed passing about each cam module sprocket and right angle drive to produce the basic system.

The particular tooling including flxturing, locating members and gaging for the specific application would be added to the basic system, as well as the feed and discharge mechanisms and other required accessories according to conventional practices.

From this it can be seen that the engineering and manufacturing costs for this aspect of the system can be greatly reduced, as well as increasing the speed with which such a system can be produced in comparison with conventional manufacturing practices and desig approaches to the motion drive system.

I claim:

1. In a rotary index gaging system having a rotary table adapted for indexing rotary motion to successively carry workpieces through a plurality of work stations at which one or more operations are performed on said workpieces, and wherein one or more motion mechanisms are provided at said work stations to perform said operations, an improved drive system for driving said motion mechanisms at said stations comprising:

a continuous flexible drive element extending in a closed path;

means for circulating said flexible drive element through said path;

cam means at each station including a cam plate for each motion mechanism at said station aligned along an axis parallel to the axis of said table rotation;

means for rotating said cam plates by a driving connection with said flexible drive member;

means for operating each of said motion mechanisms by a driving connection with a respective cam plate.

2. The rotary index system of claim 1 wherein said cam plates are supported for rotation about axes parallel to said table axis, and wherein said means for rotating said cam plates includes a rotary member at each station engaging said flexible drive element and connected for rotation with said cam plate or plates at said station.

3. A method of manufacturing various rotary index gaging systems from standard components, said sys tems having differing numbers of work stations and differing types of required motions at said work stations, the method including the steps of:

manufacturing standard table and rotary drive systems therefore;

manufacturing a series of standard motion mechanisms comprising a standard vertical motion from above the table mechanism, a standard vertical motion from below the table mechanism, and a standard horizontal motion mechanism each of which is adapted to nest together with the others in a single work station;

manufacturing standard motion mechanism drive systems capable of driving one, two, or all three motion mechanisms;

assembling each system by locating a standard motion mechanisms drive system at each work station and selecting the required motion mechanisms to perform the workpiece gaging operations at each station, whereby a variety of gaging systems can be manufactured from standard components.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein in the steps of manufacturing said motion mechanism drive systems standard rotary drive elements are included disposed so as to be oriented in a parallel plane to said rotary table when located in said work station, and further including the steps of:

manufacturing standard type flexible drive elements adapted to be passed around said rotary drive elements and standard drives adapted to circulate said flexible drive elements, and further including the step of installing a flexible drive elemnt about each of said rotary drive elements, whereby said motion mechanism drive systems can be driven by the use of said standard type flexible drive element.

4! IF t 

1. In a rotary index gaging system having a rotary table adapted for indexing rotary motion to successively carry workpieces through a plurality of work stations at which one or more operations are performed on said workpieces, and wherein one or more motion mechanisms are provided at said work stations to perform said operations, an improved drive system for driving said motion mechanisms at said stations comprising: a continuous flexible drive element extending in a closed path; means for circulating said flexible drive element through said path; cam means at each station including a cam plate for each motion mechanism at said station aligned along an axis parallel to the axis of said table rotation; means for rotating said cam plates by a driving connection with said flexible drive member; means for operating each of said motion mechanisms by a driving connection with a respective cam plate.
 2. The rotary index system of claim 1 wherein said cam plates are supported for rotation about axes parallel to said table axis, and wherein said means for rotating said cam plates includes a rotary member at each station engaging said flexible drive element and connected for rotation with said cam plate or plates at said station.
 3. A method of manufacturing various rotary index gaging systems from standard components, said systems having differing numbers of work stations and differing types of required motions at said work stations, the method including the steps of: manufacturing standard table and rotary drive systems therefore; manufacturing a series of standard motion mechanisms comprising a standard vertical motion from above the table mechanism, a standard vertical motion from below the table mechanism, and a standard horizontal motion mechanism each of which is adapted to nest together with the others in a single work station; manufacturing standard motion mechanism drive systems capable of driving one, two, or all three motion mechanisms; assembling each system by locating a standard motion mechanisms drive system at each work station and selecting the required motion mechanisms to perform the workpiece gaging operations at each station, whereby a varietY of gaging systems can be manufactured from standard components.
 4. The method of claim 3 wherein in the steps of manufacturing said motion mechanism drive systems standard rotary drive elements are included disposed so as to be oriented in a parallel plane to said rotary table when located in said work station, and further including the steps of: manufacturing standard type flexible drive elements adapted to be passed around said rotary drive elements and standard drives adapted to circulate said flexible drive elements, and further including the step of installing a flexible drive elemnt about each of said rotary drive elements, whereby said motion mechanism drive systems can be driven by the use of said standard type flexible drive element. 